October 4, 2026 Text: Isaiah 5:1-7
Dear Friends in Christ,
Jerry Seinfeld said to Kramer on an episode of Seinfeld, “Buying fruit is a gamble, I know that going in.” We understand that don’t we? Maybe bananas and some apples are pretty consistent but buying a melon is a crapshoot. And grapes? Red or green and if you get that one that makes your face pucker, well, you know all about sour grapes.
Sour grapes. An expression we all use. What does it mean? An expression of disdain about something one desires but cannot have. The expression comes from Aesop’s fable when the fox could not reach some grapes and so the fox disparaged them as sour. Can people accuse us of sour grapes?
The Israelites had a problem. God gave them a vineyard. Highly attainable. Within their reach. They misused it and it brought on . . .
“SOUR GRAPES”
The words used in our text are “wild grapes” but it means the same thing. Grapes that were no good. The text is a parable skillfully done. Likely proclaimed at the Feast of Booths when Israel celebrated God’s blessing of the harvest. It starts out nicely with harvest imagery, but soon turns into an indictment. Isaiah wants the Israelites to pass judgment on themselves. The vineyard is a real-life situation, and they soon realize the story is about them. Talk about sour grapes.
Running a vineyard is a hard job. Many of Israel’s vineyards were planted on the side of a mountain or hillside. This made them naturally rocky. The rocks would have to go. Then the weeds and thorns and it is time for digging and terracing. Good drainage would be a must. A vine must be selected or many vines, the choicest vines. These vines need protection from animals and pests. A fence and watchtower must be built. After all this the vintner is going to need a winepress and a vat. To care for the vineyard, many workers are needed and they do not come cheap.
This was all done in the first two verses, but when the harvest came the vineyard only produced bad fruit, sour grapes, pucker up. This whole reading is a picture of Israel. The Lord God, the landlord of the vineyard had given them the land as a gift. He gave them a great sign in Numbers chapter 13, a cluster of grapes so large it had to be carried by two men on a pole. The vineyard is the city of Jerusalem. A city hedged and walled. A city where all the tribes (the grapes) of the Lord can grow and flourish. The temple is built on a fertile hill. All of this is within their grasp. But they turn their back. Sour grapes.
What do Judah and Isaiah have to offer us? Jesus. Jesus’ coming. Jesus as the vine. Jesus proceeding into Jerusalem on the donkey. Jesus as His life is crushed on the rock of Calvary. Jesus as the blood is dripping down on those rocks, like the juices of grapes being stomped in the winepress and into the wine vat below.
Israel. God’s chosen nation was a bad tenant. She allowed the weeds of false doctrine to grow among the branches. She permitted the wild boars of false teachers to eat the good grapes and root out the noble vine of God’s planting. When God sent the servants, His prophets to collect the fruits, Israel beat, killed, and stoned them. The owner will send His Son. Surely they will love and respect him, right? Not so. He, too, is killed.
The Lord held them accountable. He made the vineyard a waste. He breaks the wall and stops the rain. He hates rebellion against His Word and those that grieve His spirit. Turn your back on the Almighty and expect sour grapes.
Do we suffer from sour grapes? Our salvation is attainable through Christ. Do we ever disdain it for something else and then cry “sour grapes”? There is life and death in the vineyard. Branches are pruned. Judas is cut away from the Twelve. The other eleven will bear fruit, as branches in the vine.
You are offshoots of the eleven. Stock of true Israel. Fruit of the vine Jesus. Unlike fruit, our salvation is not a gamble. We bear fruit because we are clean in the waters of Holy Baptism. You hunger and thirst for that crimson blood of Jesus shed for your sins. You know Christ. You are in Christ. You know the power of the resurrection and the goal of your faith – heaven because of Christ Jesus. Through all this, you are blessed to be the Lord’s Vineyard.
Amen.